


tea leaves

by fifrose



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Barista Peter Parker, F/M, Love Triangle, M/M, MJ would be a perfect writer, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Peter Parker, Slow Burn, are you kidding me?, coffee shop AU, mj doesnt believe she can fall in love, peter still has powers, probably ooc harry osborn, sorta - Freeform, writer mj
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-19 11:03:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14872562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifrose/pseuds/fifrose
Summary: An idea-starved misanthropic writer meets a clumsy barista whos studies and job seem to outrank his self-care.Little did she know, she was meeting Spider-Man out of suit.





	1. Chapter 1

Michelle hated love stories. They were sappy, unnecessary, and too cliche for her taste. 

So, needless to say, when she was assigned to write one for her college class, she was completely lost, frustrated, and most importantly, stressed. What was she supposed to write, if she hadn’t experienced love herself? Not that she wanted to, of course. Love was just another problem on her list, so Michelle ignored it.

Because, who could love a girl like her? A cynical, misanthropic writer whose words were clouded with symbolism. Using terms that highschool jocks would, Michelle was undoubtedly a dyke. 

She couldn’t give less of a shit, though. 

Anyways, it had been atleast an hour and a half and the only things hat Michelle had done was put her name on it, daydream about her latest sci-fi book, and watch a Brooklyn 99 episode, all while convinced she deserved a break. 

_Maybe some caffeine would perk me up._

After quickly saving her file, Michelle pulled on her jacket and slides. She didn’t bother with her hair because nobody there would dare comment on it anyway. 

Michelle was known as a bit of a bitch around campus. No, not the Mean Girls or Heathers kind. The kind where everybody is scared of you in a “freaky weirdo” way so they end up just avoiding you. Yeah, that sounded about right. 

There was a new coffee shop opening that was called The Crooked Cat. It sounded straight out of a YA novel, but she still loved the name regardless. Hopefully, the people there left her alone and the tables were clean. That’s all that really mattered to her. 

Still, she had never went there before. She wasn’t really sure what to expect. Not that she was nervous or anything. 

As Michelle turned the corner to the coffee shop, the dread in her stomach grew. What if there were noisy jocks there? They were idiots, sure, but she didn’t want to deal with them right now. _Chill._

The coffee shop was quaint, but cleverly designed. There was a cat sitting atop the roof, his head slightly tilted to the side. 

Michelle entered the coffee shop and immediately the smell hit her. The smell of delicious chocolate cookies wafted throughout the place. _Never had that before._

Upon looking around, Michelle noticed the place was _absolutely and utterly packed._

_What....the fuck._

In her confusion, Michelle ended up making eye contact with a barista. The barista looked just as confused as her, his wide brown eyes a plea for help. 

They stayed that way for almost a whole minute before a customer walked infront of him, demanding something. 

_Damn. Poor kid._

She must have been in a good mood, because Michelle actually walked up and found a seat in the front. The ones that are right next to the employees and nobody ever takes because they despise small talk. She really didn’t know what she had expected to be different, but the way that guy looked at her seemed to be prime quality inspiration for her love story. 

Quiet jazz played over the loudspeaker, before another employee finally went on and said in an equally fearful voice,

”We _do not_ have anymore chocolate chip cookies, seriously. Peter didn’t bake enough.” 

A groan spread throughout the shop, and the huge crowd of people seemed to disappear through the exit. 

Michelle looked around and saw that it was back to normal. _What the fuck was that?_

“Oh gosh, sorry about that. Anyway, can I take your order?” 

Michelle’s head sprung up to meet the eyes of the guy she made eye contact with before. Except, he looked bad up close. Not in an ugly sort of way, but in a complete disaster way. 

He had undereye circles, his hair had flour in it, and his apron had an underlying stain of coffee like a customer had thrown it at him.

 _“Dude,_ are you okay?” Michelle cringed. 

“Aw man, that’s still there?” The guy looked down at his apron. Michelle looked at his name tag, _Peter._

 _“_ Did someone...throw that at you?” Michelle furrowed her eyebrows. He was a mess, but he was actually kind of cute. 

“Oh, uh, no. I just spilled it. I’m kinda clumsy.” Peter sheepishly chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair, and seemed surprised when a puff of flour came out of it. 

“Uh, I’ll have a coffee. Black. Thanks.” Michelle smiled. It was a real smile. 

“Thank you for ordering that! All day long people have been asking for those cookies. What’s so special about them? Anyways, I’ll be back with your coffee.” Peter smiled back before turning on his heel to the kitchen. 

_Man, that was some...inspiration._

Michelle lazily wrote down in her notebook. Her handwriting was sloppy, but she hadn’t paid any mind towards it. It’s not like anyone would read it besides her. 

**inspo shit**

**cute barista falls in love with a regular at the coffee shop (?)**  

Michelle’s face turned bright red once she realized what she had written. Was she..writing her own future? Michelle wanted to giggle like a girl at a sleepover at the thought. Peter probably had a girlfriend, or he was dating the other guy. Still, he inspired her. And perhaps if everything went the impossible way, she would have someone to love.

”Oh, um.” 

Michelle whipped around in her seat to see Peter there. _Oh no._ Peter had read it. Her life was over. Time to find a new coffee shop. 

“Here’s your coffee.” Peter’s face was bright red. He quickly spun around, muttering a quick ‘sorry’ as he went. 

_Oh god. What have I done?_


	2. hehe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a/n

ok so this work is coming back from the dead!! i gave up on it but im back now, ready to finish it. updates still might be kinda slow, probably weekly or every other week. but hey, theyre updates right? anyway sorry for the bad grammar its 2 AM and im sleepy but i wanted to tell u guys about this! 

the next chapter will probably come out sometime this week. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peters POV
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of short but i mostly wanted to get this chapter out of the way for now

Many aspiring authors came into The Crooked Cat, it seemed to be a first step for them to get into the career. Peter loved seeing what they were writing and their ideas. Peter almost wished he could get into something like that. 

It was Monday, 3:00 PM when the following events happened. 

Peter hadn’t baked enough cookies, per usual. It wasn’t his fault that Mr. Stark stole a whole bunch for the Avengers. Of course, he couldn’t say that. What he wasn’t expecting was mob mentality from there not being enough. 

Ned, like the amazing friend he is, took over the loudspeaker and told them all to basically shoo.

Meanwhile, Peter was about ready to pass out. God, he was so tired. He couldn’t stop from zoning out on this one girl.

The entire mob seemed to go right out the door where they came in a matter of seconds. Except one girl. 

Peter turned his gaze towards her. 

She had confidently chosen a seat right next to the barista’s area. Great. Small talk galore. 

Peter walked over, menu in hand. He knew he looked a mess. Soft jazz played over the loudspeaker and calmed him. The cafe that was bustling and noisy before was now silent except for the music and the occasional mutterings between the other workers. 

“Oh, gosh, sorry about that. Anyway, can I take your order?” Peter mentally begged her to order something, _anything,_ other than those goddamn cookies. 

Her eyes seemed to wander for a second. 

”Dude, are you okay?” Her tone wasn’t critical, but forgiving. Perhaps she had been a barista before? It wasn’t a very rewarding job in the slightest. Peter glanced downward where her eyes had been staring. _Oh. Coffee stain._

“Aw man, that’s still there?” Peter was slightly embarrassed. He had spilled that on himself on his last shift, but he had forgotten to clean it. 

“Did someone throw that on you?” She had an eyebrow raised.

”Oh, uh, no. I just spilled it. I’m sorta clumsy.” This girl seemed to be asking a lot of unnecessary questions. But Peter didn’t hate it. It was actually quite nice to talk to another human being who wasn’t Ned or his aunt. “Anyways?” 

“Oh, right. I’ll have a coffee. Black. Thanks.” She turned to her notebook and pulled out a pen. _Right. She’s studying._

“Thank you for ordering that! All day long people have been asking for those cookies. What’s so special about them? Anyways, I’ll be back with your coffee.“ Peter turned on his heel to the kitchen. 

The kitchen was pretty industrial compared to the rest of the coffee shop. It was steel all over. 

Passing Ned, he took out a clean cup and began the easy process of making coffee. 

“So, that girl? I’ve seen her around. She’s in one of my classes.” Ned began washing dishes next to him.

”Okay?” Peter waited for the coffee. 

“She’s a real stone cold type. Smart and sarcastic. She once roasted this jock guy so bad in class that he started crying,” Ned turned to Peter. “And, that right there, was the nicest interaction I’ve ever seen her have with someone ever.” 

“Are you stalking her or something?” Peter snorted and poured the coffee. 

“No, but I’m just saying. I think she likes you.”

”We’re not in grade school anymore, alright?” Peter huffed in annoyance and walked out of the kitchen with the coffee.

He saw the girl scribbling messily in her notebook, hair falling out of a messy bun. Her eyes were lazily focused at her writing. 

Peter hadn't even realized he had been walking towards her, staring like a stalker. 

She turned around suddenly, her face covered in a dark blush and her eyes wide. Peter froze. 

Oh god, she noticed him staring at her. She must have heard Ned's stupid loud mouth. Oh god, oh god. 

Peter set the coffee down next to her, stammering an apology and getting as far away as possible. He bounced into the kitchen, scanning it for his noisy friend. 

Ned was currently washing dishes. 

Peter came up behind him with almost panther-like stalking ability, he tapped Ned on the shoulder.

Peter's eyes spoke before his mouth did, burning with embarrassment and anger. 

"She fucking heard you!" Peter whisper-yelled, getting in his face. 

"Oh, shit." Ned gulped and turned towards the window where the girl sat.

Or rather, was sitting. 

Now all that was there was money for her coffee and upon closer investigation, a small black phone with a green rubber case.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter goes on a wild goose chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /tw sorta graphic description of wounds near the end? its like a sentence

Peter stared dumbfoundedly at the phone, left carelessly behind on her seat. 

"Oh no." 

Ned's voice surprised him as his friend came around, also staring at the phone.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ned cringed, chewing on the side of his nail anxiously. Peter honestly didn't know either, after the awkward experience they both just had with her. 

"I could ask boss, but he'd probably just take it." Peter sighed, eyeing toward the manager's office in the back of the store.

The manager was a cold-hearted creep, flirting with teenagers and yelling at children in the store. Peter had to apologize for his behavior multiple times, usually to the manager's dismay. 

"You're right about that." Ned too sighed, and began wiping down MJ's forgotten table with a rag. 

"I guess I'm gonna go on an adventure, any chance you have a lead for me?" Peter asked, taking her cup to the backroom for washing and collecting her money into the register.

They always talked like this, halfway across the store from one another. It earned them complaints sometimes, but it was a habit they couldn't stop. It reminded him of highschool, yelling across lunch tables and classrooms just to attempt to get your friend's attention. 

"Uh, let me see, you could try Liz at the library, heard she knows everybody." Ned scoffed, his tone similar to when they were in highschool, making fun of snotty popular girls. 

"Oh, is she...one of those types?" Peter raised an eyebrow at Ned's tone.

"No-Well, actually I don't know. I don't think so though, she doesn't really have any enemies here." 

"Alright, guess I'm going to the library after my shift ends," Peter huffed, "This sucks, I have to study for my finals too, you know. Plus, that..other thing. You know." 

"After-school church youth group?" Ned snarked. Peter couldn't have made it anymore obvious.

"No, moron. Web..you know." Peter made his trademark 'webslinging' pose with his hands, oblivious. 

"God, yes, I know. I was joking." Ned rolled his eyes playfully, bumping Peter with his shoulder. 

"My shift ends in 10, so..could I leave early? Doesn't really look like too much traffic is coming through." Peter gave his best grin, praying for Ned to say yes. 

"Ugh. Fine." Ned scoffed.

* * *

 Finding this girl Liz wasn't too hard of a challenge, she was in the library, helping children pick out interesting books to read. They giggled and thanked her for helping, then ran off to their parents. 

"Hey, uh, you're Liz, right?" Peter murmured nervously, holding Michelle's phone in one hand and playing with the stitch of his shirt with the other. 

"Yes, can I help you?" Liz smiled at him. 

"I think this girl Michelle Jones left her phone at this cafe I work at. I'm trying to get it back to her. Heard you might know her?" Peter rubbed the back of his neck, wishing for this conversation to end. 

"Oh, I know who she is, but I don't really know her that well. I do know someone who might though, her name is Cindy Moon. She is probably in her art class right now in the Stark building, see if you can catch her afterwards." Liz hummed, rattling off information as soon as Peter finished his sentence. 

His wide eyes must have said it all, because she laughed then took out a piece of paper, writing the details down. Peter groaned internally in his head,  _another person to find?_

He needed to be at Stark's at 7:00 and it was already 5:30. He also needed some time to study, and for patrolling. 

So, with that, he was off again. 

He walked across campus to the art class which was held in the Stark building. Peter honestly felt kind of creepy, standing there, waiting for some random girl to come out. That's when it hit him. 

 _He had_   _no idea what Cindy Moon looked like._

Peter quickly texted Ned, his fingers tapping furiously at the screen.

**parker4406: u know cindy moon rite?**

**parker4406: what does she look like**

**parker4406: im in a CRISIS**

**parker4406: NED**

**nednedd &neddy: calm down **

**nednedd &neddy: she has black straight hair, shes asian and she usually is wearin some band tshirt **

**nednedd &neddy: ugh just yell cindy into the crowd of students that comes out and see what happens**

**parker4406: do u take me for a fool i cant just embarrass myself infront of a whole class of art majors**

**nednedd &neddy: ur gonna embarrass urself either way **

**nednedd &neddy: now shut i have customers to deal with**

Peter bit his lip anxiously. Should he follow Ned's advice? It sounded..embarrassing. Especially if there was more than one Cindy. 

The doors opened, and thank the gods, it was Cindy. Followed by a huge, judgey, clique of art majors. 

He struggled his way through, muttering 'excuse me's' and 'sorry's the entire time. Multiple art people had scoffed at him. 

"Cindy?" He said, finally getting behind her. 

"Hi?" She turned around, paint still smudged on her face. 

"Sorry, do you know a Michelle Jones?" Peter  tried to avoid staring at the huge blot of purple paint on her cheek, instead trying to meet her eyes. 

"Yes? Who are you?" She eyed him cautiously. 

"Oh, right. I'm Peter Parker. She left her phone at this cafe that I work at." He chewed on his lip, the conversation flowing out easier then he expected. 

"I know you! Peter Parker, you got the Stark internship, didn't you?" Her eyes brightened at his name, a smile appearing on her face. 

"Yes.." He looked downwardly awkwardly. 

"Oh, right, Michelle. Uh, I think she's either in her philosophy class or at our dorm. I would give it to her, but I have a psych class in 15 minutes. Sorry." She frowned, before adding one last bit of info. "Her psych class is at Wayne Hall, and our dorm is #24 in the Stone building." Cindy checked her watch, hurrying to say bye and leave for her next class. She stopped suddenly, and grabbed a piece of paper out of her bag. Scribbling, she wrote down her number. 

"Here's my number in case you can't find her." Cindy smiled, then ran towards her next class. 

Peter stared at the number he got, a tired sigh coming from his mouth. Couldn't she just take it? He contemplated calling after her, but since he couldn't see her, he began to walk towards Wayne Hall. 

Wayne Hall was a small beaten-down brick building, with ferns growing next to the stairs and two small stone lions resting in front of the steps. Peter sat down on the steps, scrolling through his twitter feed. 

"Um, hello?" 

Peter looked up to see a guy, probably around his age, staring down at him inquisitively. The boy's red hair flopping as a gust of wind came by.

"Uh, hi." Peter smiled anxiously, shifting his weight from side-to-side. He was unfortunately aware of how weird he looked right now. 

"May I ask..what you are doing?" The boy smiled awkwardly. 

"I'm waiting for someone to come out." Peter picked at the side of his thumb. 

"Who?" He sat down beside Peter, almost as if he was watching him. "By the way, I'm Harry."

"I'm...Peter." Peter began to get annoyed.  _Why is this guy asking so many questions?_

"A girl named Michelle Jones. She left her phone at a cafe I work at. Any more questions?" Peter bit out, his eyebrows drawing together in annoyance. 

Harry seemed unsurprised by this, exhaling a sigh. "Calm down. I'm just making sure you aren't here to do anything...fishy." 

"Everything that just came out of my mouth must have just seemed like a red flag then, I'm guessing?" Peter laughed, painfully aware of himself. 

"Totally. I was debating on whether to call campus security before you explained." Harry chuckled back, his red hair seeming to glow in the sun. 

"Yeah, like they would do anything anyway." Peter snorted, checking the time as their conversation continued. 

"True," Harry giggled, "Are you going to see Pet Sematary? Heard it's good." His tone edged with something Peter couldn't quite place. 

"Uh, maybe." 

"Wanna join me on Saturday at the Cinemaplex?" Harry smirked, his eyes confident as his tone was. 

"Sure. Sounds fun." Peter smiled back, oblivious. Pet Sematary sounded fun, and he could invite Ned! He really wanted to go see it, too. This would be a perfect way to make up for ditching his shift. 

"Sounds like a date," Harry's face twisted into annoyance as he checked his watch. "Ah, shit. My class is in 10. Here, let me write down my number." Harry ripped a small piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled onto it, adding his number and in cursive handwriting,  _Text me sometime :)_

Peter watched as Harry walked off, a satisfied grin written all over his face and a pep in his step. Peter sighed as he leaned back onto the stairs. 

As the doors opened, Michelle and a bunch of other students walked out. Michelle blushed as she saw Peter standing there, and took a step back. 

"Hey, sorry, you left your phone at the cafe. I just came to give it back." Peter held out her phone with a small nervous smile.

"O-Oh. Thanks," Michelle took the phone and paused, "Sorry for..all that." 

"All what?" Peter cocked his head to side, confused. She had nothing to apologize for. 

Michelle almost began going into detail, when she realized that he hadn't seen what she wrote.  _Oh thank god._ She mentally let out a sigh of relief at this. 

"Leaving my phone behind." Michelle stuttered out, stumbling over her words as she picked the first thing she thought of. 

"Oh, uh, no big deal. Everyone does it." Peter laughed, hoping to get this over with. 

"Wait, are you Peter Parker? The one with the 'Stark Internship'?" Michelle put it in air quotation marks, giggling as if it was something totally ridiculous. 

"Uh, yeah. What about it?" Peter felt a bit defensive at this, crossing his arms. 

"Dude. It sounds pretty fake to me." Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's pretty real. Don't believe everything Flash tells you." Peter huffed, adding a bit of bite to the last part. 

"Well, if that's the case, what's your major?" Michelle swiftly turned the conversation around, sensing Peter's discomfort at the idea the Stark internship was fake. 

"Engineering with a minor in math, you?" Peter rattled the words off like it was nothing, surprised to see the shocked look on Michelle's face. 

"Dude, I thought you were gonna say, like, English or something. That actually sounds pretty hard. Myself, I'm a journalism major with a minor in psychology." 

"Yeah, well, doing all that Engineering homework takes it's toll. I haven't slept in like 3 days," Peter laughed as if it were something funny. "Journalism with psychology, huh? I don't really know you that well yet, but it sounds exactly like you from what I've heard." 

"Well, don't believe everything Flash tells you, right?" Michelle snorted. 

"Hey, you seen Pet Sematary yet?" Peter blurted out suddenly, the question lingering in the air for a couple seconds before Michelle answered.

"No..not yet, why?" 

"Would you be interested in going with my friends and I on Saturday?" Peter grinned, the plans practically coming together in front of his eyes. 

"Sure. Wanna trade numbers?" Michelle began writing down her number before he could respond, handing it to him as he just started writing. 

With a chuckle when he handed it over, Michelle began to walk away to her next class. 

"Wow." Was all Peter said as she walked away, pleasantly surprised with himself. Three new friends in one day. 

* * *

 

It was frigid out, so freezing that Peter could feel it through his suit. His teeth chattered in the April night air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. 

Mr. Stark had told him he could go out later now that he was in college, and Peter took full advantage of that. 

Maybe a little bit too much, in fact. Peter found the tracker on his suit one night with the help of Ned, ripping it out and placing it in his pocket from time to time to act as if he were out and about. 

Peter was supposed to be home by 1 AM. Peter was usually home by 4 or 5 AM.

That truly was the advantage of college, you could schedule your classes for late in the evening if you wanted to. 

Peter stood on the roof, looking out for any signs of danger, when suddenly he felt his phone beep. 

**(xxx)-xxx-xxxx: sup lozer**

**(xxx)-xxx-xxxx has changed their name to fuck u**

**fuck u: y r u reading these its like 3 am in the morning**

**fuck you: atleast respond rude**

**fuck u: meanie :(**

**fuck u: i will spam u dont test me**

Peter was currently clutching his side, warmness flooding out of it like a floodgate had been opened. His phone currently laid cracked on the pavement. 

He hissed in pain, before swinging his fists toward the man. His left hand made contact, earning him a crack from one of the man's teeth The man groaned in pain, spitting out blood onto the sidewalk. 

Peter quickly whipped his webs out, wrapping up the man mentioned before and sticking him to the ground. 

"Oh my- Oh my god, are you okay?" A young freshman cried, no more than 19. She was walking home unknowingly in the bad part of town.

"I'm fine. Do you need a ride home?" Peter grunted through the stinging at his side. 

"No, I'm good. Are you sure you don't need-" 

"Be safe." Peter was already off and swinging home, his wound stretching and tearing more at every jump. Peter could hiss and groan as much as he wanted, it wouldn't change the risky state the wound was in. Thankfully, he had a healing factor that would cover over that bullet hole in no time. 

As he climbed in through the window, he felt the pricks of tears coming out of the corner of his eyes. Nothing more than a pain response, but he still felt ashamed. 

Hurrying to the bathroom, Peter quickly picked out some gauze and bandages. He cleaned his wound out, then put a large bandage over the hole and wrapped it in gauze. 

**parker4406: sorry i fell asleep**

**parker4406: hey n00b**

**fuck u: go to sleep its like 4 am**

**parker4406: and why arent u asleep?**

**fuck u: bc i can be up**

**parker4406: then y cant i be up??**

**fuck u: bc u need to sleep to maintain normal healthy human functions such as: breathing, thinking, walking, standing up without falling over, etc, etc, etc**

**parker4406: ugh okkkk**

**fuck u : gn loser**

**parker4406: gn noob**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bet u thought i wouldnt include harry or cindy in this huh? well i love them even if i dont know how to write their characters for shit so just expect them to be kind of ooc
> 
> also: hunnys yall got a big storm coming for the next chapters


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting asked out might be the best feeling in the universe.

"Oh. My. God. That was god awful. Like, Percy Jackson bad." Michelle gestured with her hands, laughing. 

"Eh, it wasn't that bad. It could have been worse. Like, Emoji Movie bad." Peter snorted, brushing popcorn off his shirt as they exited the theatre. That movie was pretty damn bad. 

"I don't know, I liked the cat. He's a good boy! Very good actor, 10/10." Cindy giggled, still wearing her 3D glasses. She insisted on keeping them because she thought they looked cool and retro. 

"I agree with Peter. It wasn't extremely bad, but not good either. Like a C on the Osborn movie scale, to be honest." Harry smiled, walking with his hands in his denim jacket as the group made it's way down the street to the car. Peter thought Harry looked awesome in that jacket, like a cowboy turned total badass turned rogue. Or something. 

"I'm sorry, the what scale?" Ned full-out laughed, enjoying poking fun at someone other than Peter. The group had only known each other for a couple days, but they were already thick as thieves. As it turns out, Ned knew Harry from their shared Biology class. 

"The Osborn scale. My ranking of movies. Ranked A-D, an A is A Star Is Born and a D is Paul Blart: Mall Cop." Harry grinned, restraining a laugh as he explained his grading system. 

"Well, on the Leeds scale, that was a low D. Failing grade. It better sign up for some tutoring sessions soon." Ned held his hands in his hoodie pocket, the wind ruffling his black hair. 

"God, that was like a Z in my book." Michelle scoffed, bumping shoulders with Peter. He let a grin spread over his face. He couldn't tell whether the blush was from the cold temperature or from...something else. Oh man, he was starting to like this girl, wasn't he? And he was gonna have to keep it in because there's no way in hell he could talk about this with Aunt May or Ton-

"Oh shit! I gotta call Mr. Stark real quick, I forgot that I had a...meeting today." Peter stopped in shock, screeching suddenly. He rummaged through his hoodie pocket, finally clutching his phone. As he clicked it on, the annoying 'Battery Low' symbol popped up, then immediately shut the device off, leaving Peter staring at his reflection in the screen. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, can I borrow one of your phones? Please?" Peter scrambled around, the sound of Mr. Stark saying 'irresponsible' echoing in his mind. 

"Yeah, dude, no worries." Harry handed Peter his phone, open to the texting screen. Peter grabbed it quickly, muttering a fast 'thank you' before tapping in his number. 

"Oh wait, you can't use call on that. For some reason my phone fucks that up." Harry cringed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"It's fine." Peter muttered, eyes focused on the screen as he typed an apology. 

_harryoz466: hey this is peter im really sorry i didnt come today i forgot i feel really bad_

_tstark: It's alright, kid. It's obvious you're having some fun, you deserve it. I know how hard you're working with college and Spider-man is making it even harder than it should be. Meet up next weekend?_

_tstark: By the way, is this Harry Osborn's phone your texting off of?_

_harryoz466: howd you know?_

_tstark: Pete, the username is literally harryoz466._

_harryoz466: oh._

_harryoz466: should i delete these texts_

_tstark: Your call, Pete. I gotta go to sleep now, or Pep's gonna kill me. Talk to you later, kid._

_harryoz466: ok_

Peter thought for a second. He probably should delete them, but Harry seemed fine enough. He knew deep down that he should delete them immediately, but a small part of him wanted Harry to find them and discover he's Spider-Man. It kinda sucked to keep secrets, Peter discovered. Besides, he would probably find out at some point due to Peter's inability to seem inconspicuous about anything. 

"You done?" Harry breathed on his hands, warming them up from the unusually cold air. It was May, it should be warm by now. 

"Yeah, sorry guys. Lets go." Peter gave the phone back to Harry, a sigh coming from his lips into the freezing air. Why did he always do this?

* * *

Peter was lying on his bed lazily, recounting his notes aloud. Ned was away, gone with some girl he met in his English Lit class last week. Not to say he wasn't happy for Ned, but he was just a bit envious. See, Ned had gone and asked this girl out the traditional way. Peter would never have the guts to do something like that without total confirmation that she liked him back. 

"Efficiency, the ability for a given design or solution to avoid.....To avoid what?" Peter groaned in frustration, tossing his paper off the bed. He pouted like a child that was upset things weren't going their way. 

_Ding!_

Peter grinned and reached for his phone, happy for any distraction. Peter could be known as the king of procrastination, the god of cramming the night before, or as the ruler of caffeination. There was a reason he had his job at the cafe, years of experience. 

Peter opened the messenger app, quickly opening the chat that had been started. 

_harryoz466: hey i have a question_

_parker4406: hit me ! :)_

_harryoz446: would u be interested in a date sometime this week?_

Peter stared at his phone, a blush forming on his cheeks. Oh man, oh man. He really wasn't sure. 

On one hand, Peter was very bi, and Harry was apparently interested in guys. Also, he was  _cute._ The more Peter thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. Peter would be able to get over his impossible crush on Michelle.

But on the other hand, Peter liked Michelle. He also felt kind of bad going on a date with Harry just to get over Michelle. 

Peter rocked slightly back and forth, weighing his options. On the other other hand, he wouldn't be using Harry if he got over Michelle before he accepted Harry's offer. 

He grabbed his phone, furiously tapping in the letters. 

_parker446: sure. what day?_

_harryoz4406 is typing..._

Peter grinned, feeling very Highschool in this moment. The teen drama phase was always the best drama phase. Feeling giddy, he quickly opened up his chat with Ned. 

_parker4406: OK IK UR ON A DATE BUT_

_parker4406: HARRY ASKED ME OUT_

Peter switched to the other chat, eyes lighting up at the response. 

_harryoz446: thursday 6:00 pm at janie's?_

_parker4406: yeah!! sound s great!!!!_

He chewed his lip, wondering if that was too many exclamation points. He didn't want to seem overexcited. He wanted to seem excited, but in a cool way. 

_harryoz446: cool :-)_

Peter drummed his fingers against his phone, letting himself think on this. He really wanted to like Harry, but he just didn't yet. It doesn't matter, he thought, I might like him more after the first date. He was just getting into thinking about what may happen when his phone dinged yet again. 

_nednedd &neddy: OMG _

_nednedd &neddy: DUDE THATS SICK _

_parker4406: I KN OW_

_parker4406: anyway how did ur date go! :))))_

_nednedd &neddy: v ery good _

_nednedd &neddy shes a sweetheart_

_parker4406: thats v cute_

_parker4406: anyway im going on patrol_

Peter jumped off his bed, quickly grabbing his suit and getting into it. His suit was no longer the old, hoodie combo homemade suit he originally made. It also wasn't the very outdated but fancy-looking suit that Mr.Stark originally made him. By now, technology had advanced (atleast for Stark) and things had gotten better and better. 

Climbing out his window, he felt the frigid air even underneath his mask. His eyes narrowed as he heard no noise outside. No noise = no crime. Perhaps New York wouldn't have much need for him tonight. 

Peter leaped and swung across the city with skills that an acrobat could only ever hope to have. Peter definitely wasn't an acrobat or gymnast by any means, all that had come from the spider bite. Of course, he had trained a bit in the gym to increase his skills, all heroes did. 

It felt weird to call himself a hero. He was barely a vigilante. Ever since he found out the Sokovia accords also applied to him, he had been very secretive about his nighttime career. 'The Sokovia Fiasco' ,as Peter dubbed it, led to a huge blowout with Mr. Stark and the other Avengers. Not only that, but it also led to a fight between Peter and Mr. Stark after he found out what it meant. Peter was a dumb 14 year old back then, willing to do anything to defend his idol, but he found out his 'idol' was actually signing off on something that would put him out of business. Combine that with teenage angst and pent-up rage, and you get the perfect hurricane. Luckily, the Sokovia situation had been resolved a year or two ago, so things between them were fine now. 

Still, he felt uncertain about his mentor. 

Peter sat on the brick rooftop, resting his head on his fist. The city was quiet now, but that didn't mean it still would be in an hour. There ain't no rest for the wicked, as they say. His eyes begged for sleep, anything but watching the empty damp New York streets. His mind, however, had a different agenda. New York City's crime rates were on his shoulders. Every innocent person mugged, killed, or worse, raped on the city's streets was  _his fault_ for not stopping. So he was going to stay awake until 4 AM, then go to sleep for a good 4 hours and wake up in time for his shift at the cafe. 

He felt himself start to slip off, eyes fluttering closed. 

Meanwhile, a man got mugged two blocks over. 

* * *

 Peter woke up, still in uniform, on his back near the edge of a rooftop. It was nearing 5 AM now, and the sun's powerful rays stung his face, forcing him to wake up. Groggily, he dusted the dirt off of himself and started to swing home. 

Guilt dripped off of him in waves when he came home, clearly upset about something. Ned was in the kitchen of their dorm, cooking up pancakes. Ned was always an early-riser, cooking bacon and eggs and making coffee. Ned yelped in surprise, nearly dropping the pan as Peter tripped through the window, landing on the floor as a result of his misstep. 

With a tired groan, Peter took off his mask, revealing his dark circles and messy hair. 

"Dude, get some sleep. How late were you out there?" Ned shook his head, going to back to cooking the pancakes that miraculously weren't on the floor. 

"That's the problem. I went out at 11 PM, worked for an hour or two, then fell asleep! If it was any other night, something horrible could have happened if I wasn't there. I don't need sleep, I need energy." Peter hissed, angry at himself and partially at Ned for no reason in particular. 

"Hey, sleep equals energy. Didn't you ever take a health class? But seriously, get some sleep. I'll cover your shift if you want." Ned popped some pancakes onto a plate, drizzling amber sticky liquid onto them and powdered sugar. He then pushed them in Peter's direction.

"No, no, I need to work. I just gotta get used to this, you know?" Peter pushed the pancakes back, a weak smile on his features as he went to his room to get ready. 

"Hey, if you're not gonna sleep, at least eat something," Ned barked after him, then softened his tone when he saw Peter huff. "Pretty please?" 

"Fine. I'm probably already running late, so these pancakes better be beautiful." Peter chuckled, sitting down across from Ned. The pancakes didn't appear to be bad, simple and with strawberries cut on the side. Peter dug in, trying to be as fast as possible in order to avoid running late. 

"Dude, it's 5 AM in the freaking morning. You have 3 hours." Ned laughed, putting his empty coffee cup in the sink. 

"Oh."

* * *

 It was a slow day, so slow that it almost reduced Peter to tears. He was so, so, so bored. He was secretly hoping that maybe Michelle would come in or Harry. Or anyone for that matter, he just wanted someone to talk to. 

Tapping away on his phone in the back, he heard a bell ring from the register. Quickly, he walked to the counter, playing up his 'retail smile' and sliding his phone into his pocket. "What can I get for you today?" 

"Dude. It's Michelle." The person said with a snort. 

Peter looked up, a blush forming on his cheeks. "Sorry, force of habit. Anyway, what do you want?" Peter chuckled, ignoring how obviously sleep-deprived that made him look. 

"Came here to speak to my favorite engineering major, also for one of your specialty gingerbread coffee that I've heard so much about. And a cookie." Michelle grinned, drumming her fingers on the counter. 

"Coming right up, ma'am." Peter rolled his eyes playfully, turning on his heel to the kitchen. 

Michelle chose to sit near the front, near Peter. She tried to ignore what had happened last time she was in this cafe, choosing rather to hum along to the piano music playing softly throughout the place. 

"Alright, one gingerbread coffee and a peanut butter cookie. Both very overhyped. You'll probably find them too sweet." Peter dragged his stool across from her, then sat down. 

"Eh, why do you think that?" Michelle quirked her brow, chomping on the soft cookie. He was right, it was very sweet. Almost...too sweet. 

"Well, you seemed like the type of girl that likes things bitter. I mean- no offense, sorry." Peter stammered, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. He looked down awkwardly. 

"You're right. This is very sweet," Michelle laughed, splitting the cookie and offering the other piece to Peter. "So, did you sleep at all last night or..?" She gestured to his face. 

With a mouthful of cookie, he grumbled back. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"For starters, you've got literal gravel in your hair. Also, your eyebags aren't looking too Prada, if you know what I mean. I'm serious though, you need to get some sleep." 

Peter felt a bit weird at this show of concern from Michelle. He'd only known her for a week or two at most and he already knew she was the type of person to not express feelings very loudly. "I- okay. You're probably right." He mumbled, rubbing the nape of his neck. 

"Besides, it's not like you have too much going on for sleep. I mean, admit it, you can study, go to work, and also do whatever nerd shit you're into during daylight hours. Am I right or am I right?" Michelle sipped on her coffee, raising an eyebrow at Peter. 

"Uh- yeah. Sure, that's..all I have going on." Peter stumbled over his words, trying to sound as genuine as possible. He was never the best liar, but come on! Could he have made it any more obvious?

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. You have that Stark thing, right?" 

Peter almost choked, face going pale at her words.

"The internship? Hello?" 

"Oh, yeah, yeah. With..Mr. Stark." Peter let out a mental sigh of relief and tried his best to continue the conversation. 

"He puts you through the ringer, I'm guessing? I always knew he was a real asshole." Michelle rolled her eyes, offering Peter a sip of her coffee. Peter was confused at first, not knowing what she meant by pushing it next to him. 

"Oh, okay. Thank you," Peter took a small sip of the coffee, wincing at the super-sugary taste. "Yeah, that-that Stark is a real....asshole."

* * *

"Hey, Pete, check this out," Tony beckoned him over with almost childlike enthusiasm in his voice. "I made a new AI. I call it..wait for it...A.P.R.I.L. It stands for A Probably Really Intelligent Listener. It gives advice in real-time. I'm gonna put it in your suit along with Karen, and you'll be able to make split-second decisions that are actually good for once!" 

"First of all, wow, that's really cool! Second of all, low blow." Peter said the first part with enthusiasm, then flattened his voice for the last part. 

"A well-deserved low blow. You gotta give me that, kid." Tony chuckled, then went back to his work over the Peter's suit. 

Peter was currently testing out a new weapon for Tony's suit. A totally awesome, wrist knife that came out when activated. Tony had thought it was really cool, so Peter was never gonna tell him that the idea came from Assassin's Creed. 

"So, any updates in your college life? Any gang fights or secret affairs I should be aware of?" Tony hummed as he worked, slightly glancing at Peter.

"Uh," Peter thought over his words. "I saw Pet Sematary with some friends, it was awful." 

"Friends like, perhaps, Harry Osborn?" Tony raised his eyebrows jokingly. 

"Ugh, I forgot that happened," Peter groaned, laying his head on the desk. "Yes. Friends like Harry Osborn." 

"Oh really? So..are you guys a thing?" Tony said nonchalantly, in the way that grownups can say anything and pull it off with. 

"Wha- We are not dating!" Peter tapped the desk with his fingers, avoiding eye contact. 

"Yeah, did you forget I am friends with two literal spies? When's the date?" Tony smirked, knowing he was right.

Peter plopped his head on the desk and kept it there, not answering Tony's question. Tony could see the furious blush on the kid's face from where he was sitting. 

"Come on, Pete. You know I'm not against that, right? Trust me, I'm probably the person you should be least afraid to talk to on this." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter's voice was muffled from the desk, but Tony knew exactly what he was saying. 

"I'm saying, and this will definitely make you uncomfortable, that I've dated my fair share of guys before I met Pepper. So don't worry, kid." Tony said it like it was the easiest thing in the world, but to Peter, it made his entire world explode. 

His MENTOR was bisexual just like HIM? His LITERAL FATHER FIGURE LIKED GUYS AS WELL AS GIRLS. JUST. LIKE. PETER. 

Peter restrained himself from screaming, but his expression must have said it all. 

"Yeah, crazy, right? Imagine if Fox News got ahold of this one, they'd have a field day." 

"That's-I mean- I don't know-" Peter tried to get himself together. "That's awesome." He finally stated. 

"Yeah. Anyway, when's the date, kid? Don't think you're gonna get yourself outta this one. I want all the 'tea', as you kids say." Tony spun in his seat, waiting for Peter to speak.

"I'm choosing to ignore the fact you just said tea. The date is this Saturday." Peter chewed on his lip, the fervid blush from before spreading all over his face. 

"Yes! Where are you guys going? Do you need me to be there? Not like there-there, maybe a table or two away with a walkie-talkie to help you. Or I could-" Tony's face lit up with an excellent idea. "You could use April!" He pointed to his still-in-the-process- AI. 

"Janie's. And no, I don't need you to be there. I'll take April though." Peter put a hand through his hair nervously. 

"Wow, choosing AI over your favorite person ever." 

"I didn't think Aunt May was one of the options?" Peter chuckled to himself, proud of his comeback. 

"Oh, he's got jokes!"  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> figured i should probably make a note of each of their majors!  
> peter- engineering with minor in mathematics  
> mj- journalism with minor in creative writing  
> ned- biology  
> harry- business with minor in finance  
> cindy- art with minor in psychology
> 
> I think I might expand this a little bit to include peter's mental health. Nothing extreme, and I'll include trigger warnings where needed. Also, so sorry for the delay! Please leave comments, it makes my day!


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